California Courts Innovate: Tribal/State Programs

By Jenny Walter, JD

In 2009, the Judicial Council established, as part of the Center for Families, Children &
the Courts (CFCC), a Tribal/State Projects Unit.1The purpose of this unit is to act as a
liaison between the state justice system and the tribal communities and justice systems
in California, in order to improve the California Native American community’s access to
justice, and strengthen the working relationship between the state and tribal justice
systems.

The need for this collaboration has been growing. In the 2010 census, roughly 725,000
California citizens identified as American Indian or Alaska Native, more than in any
other state.2 This represents roughly 14 percent of the entire American Indian/Alaska
Native population of the United States. California contains approximately 600,000
acres of “Indian county” in more than 100 separate parcels scattered throughout the
state. This territory is home to 110 federally recognized tribes,3 with nearly 100 separate
reservations or rancherias.4 In addition, there are currently 81 groups petitioning for
federal recognition.5 As sovereign tribes, they have the authority to establish their own
justice systems. There are now 23 tribal courts, up from nine just ten years ago 6, and
the number is growing. These courts serve approximately 40 of the 110 tribes.
The increase in the number of tribal courts, and the legal complexity of jurisdiction, also
points up the need for greater understanding and collaboration between the state courts
and the tribal courts.

To increase understanding and build trust, the Tribal/State Projects Unit staffs the
Tribal Court-State Court Forum,7 provides comprehensive services on the Indian Child
Welfare Act for judges, attorneys, and lay advocates,8 provides services on the impact of
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, trafficking, elder abuse and stalking
on tribal communities,9 and maintains a clearinghouse of information on California’s
tribal communities10 and tribal justice systems.11 Staffed by two attorneys, one cultural
broker, and one part-time administrative coordinator, this unit responds to inquiries
from local tribal and state courts on a wide range of inter-jurisdictional issues, and
promotes collaboration among them.

An understanding of the common interest shared by state and tribal courts and
the people they serve;

Increased collaboration between state and tribal courts to address
interjurisdictional challenges through programs such as cross-court cultural
exchanges, judicial education, multi-disciplinary trainings, local on-going court coordinated
community response to Indian child welfare cases,13 State/Tribal
Educational Partnerships and Services (S.T.E.P.S.) to Justice- domestic
violence,14 and S.T.E.P.S. to Justice- child welfare;


Implementation of policies reflected in legislative, rule and form, local protocol
changes, and technological advances in order to achieve recognition and
enforcement of each other’s court orders, thus preventing confusion and reducing
costs;

Promotion of innovative strategies to improve access to justice, such as the joint jurisdictional
court of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians and the local
state court in El Dorado County;15 and

Sharing of educational and other resources through the forum’s electronic
newsletter, Forum E-Update 16, and meetings.17

State and tribal justice systems have a great deal of experience to share and much to
learn from each other. In California, the state judicial system and tribal justice systems
work jointly to solve problems that they both face. The Tribal/State Projects Unit will
continue to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between the state courts and tribal
courts to promote the highest quality of justice and service for California’s Native
American communities, and to address areas of mutual concern to tribal and state
courts. The staff of this unit is available to other jurisdictions wishing to establish or reestablish
a forum, and always welcomes the opportunity to learn from other forums.
The Tribal/State Projects Unit is supported exclusively with grant funds from the U.S.
Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, (administered through the
California Office of Emergency Services), the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services’ Court Improvement Program, and the California Department of Social Services.

12 For more information about the benefits and strategic approach used by tribal and state judicial leaders to bring
about systemic changes to help the people they serve, see article by Judge Richard C. Blake and Justice Dennis M.
Perluss.

13For more information about these partnerships, see Innovative Knowledge Center, an online database featuring
tribal/state partnerships (http://www.courts.ca.gov/28827.htm) and articles by Judge Amy Pellman.

About the AuthorJennifer Walter, JD, is supervising attorney for the California Judicial
Council Center for Families, Children & the Courts, Tribal/State
Programs Unit. One of her responsibilities is serving as lead
counsel to the California Tribal Court−State Court Forum, a
statewide coalition of tribal and state court judges, appointed by
the California Chief Justice and Tribal Leaders to identify issues
concerning the working relationships between tribal and state
courts in California.

Ms. Walter has served in other capacities at
the staff agency for the Judicial Council, including supervisor of the
following programs: Court Appointed Special Advocate and other
juvenile programs and counsel to the Family and Juvenile Law
Advisory Committee. Before joining the staff agency for the Judicial Council in 1995,
she was directing attorney of Legal Advocates for Children and Youth in San Jose, a
nonprofit law office, providing direct services using teams of attorneys and social
workers. After graduating from the University of San Francisco School of Law in
1988, Ms. Walter became staff attorney at Legal Services for Children in San
Francisco. Before becoming an attorney, she ran two programs in the New York City
public schools, one for high school drop-outs and another aimed at increasing S.A.T.
scores and college admission rates. Ms. Walter was admitted to the California State
Bar in 1988 and received her bachelor’s degree in linguistics from the University of
California at Berkeley in 1982. Ms. Walter is a commissioner on the San Mateo County
LGBTQ Commission. Ms. Walter lives with her wife, Deb Hedger, and their daughter
in Half Moon Bay, California.